Chapter Five: When His Dreams Die, Too
Kate arrived to her employer's office in plenty of time, but he kept her waiting. He often did.
"Maggie, good to see you," he said, strolling in. She forced a smile.
"You too."
Cooper sat across from her and studied her blatantly. He knew she wasn't checking her out, as he viewed her not as a woman but as an object. Still, it creeped her out as if often did.
"Going well, is it?" he asked. Kate sighed.
"We went to a benefit for his hospital. He asked me out again," she said shortly, refusing to elaborate.
"Did you tell him your name?" asked Cooper. Kate rolled her eyes.
"I told him my name was Kate," he said. Cooper smiled.
"Good. I like it, it suits you. I'm proud of you, you know. You're doing extremely well," he said. Kate knew that he meant this honestly, to make her feel better, but it didn't.
"Thanks. Can I go?" she asked. Cooper frowned.
"Of course."
Kate stood to go, but his voice stopped her as she reached the door.
"Maggie... Did your grandmother ever tell you that 'he won't buy the cow if he can get the milk for free'?" asked Cooper. Kate shook her head, realizing where he was going with this.
"You're telling me not to sleep with him?" she asked in surprise. He'd told her explicitly once that he never expected her to sleep with the men that took her out, but she'd suspected that this would be a different case.
"I like your "mystery" angle. He seems to like it too. You can't let him treat you like a fling," he warned her. She nodded, never having wanted to leave as badly as she did right then.
Kate left abruptly, not waiting for him to offer more advice.
Almost as soon as she arrived home, Kate was confronted by a flurry of activity.
All the lights were off and Shannon was following around a Middle Eastern man who carried a toolbox with him, chattering endlessly at him as he checked out various outlets and asked her patiently where he could find the fuse box.
"Kate!" said Shannon, upon seeing her. "I think I blew a fuse with my hair dryer. So I called this guy..."
"Sayid Jarrah," he said, as a form of introduction. Kate nodded.
"To fix everything because like, I have a date tonight. I need electricity. And I guess they're gone now, but Sawyer called a bunch of times. He's angry about something?"
Kate cursed inwardly, remembering Sawyer's shocked expression when she'd spent the evening with Jack after meeting up with him at the bar.
"Damn it. Yeah. Thanks," she said, taking Sayid to the fuse box.
She leaned against the counter and watched in interest as Shannon made calls on her cell phone in the other room.
"She is going on a date?" he asked. Kate raised her eyebrows, surprised by his blatancy.
"No one important," she assured him, knowing even as she spoke that her assurance was unkind. He smiled.
"Does she break her electronics quite often?" he asked hopefully. She nodded.
"All the time. Thanks," she said, leaving as the lights abruptly came back on.
Kate left for Sawyer's bar when she knew he'd be closing up, hoping to avoid the crowds and to be able to have his full attention.
When she arrived, he was wiping down tables and placing the chairs on top of them. She watched him apprehensively for a moment, knowing his reaction already.
"Sawyer?" she called, letting herself in.
Sawyer dropped his cloth on the table he'd been wiping and crossed his arms, frowning at her.
"What are you doing, Kate?" he asked. She realized what he already suspected: that she was seducing Jack for her own ends, that Cooper would inevitably find out that she was wasting valuable time on him. Kate knew that Sawyer worried out her occupation, about her volatile boss.
"It's not what you think," she said, realizing slowly that he'd called her Kate, something he rarely did.
"What do I think?"
"That I'm doing something stupid. I mean, I am, but I'm just doing my job," he said.
"You told him your real name. And it sure doesn't seem like he paid for you," said Sawyer. "And what's with you having all this free time?"
"Yeah. But it's different. Cooper wants me to get closer and then..." she paused. "He's a Doctor. Apparently letting me devote all my time to this one is a worthwhile investment to Cooper."
Sawyer scowled.
"This isn't like you. I get the one night thing, but this is dishonest."
She nodded.
"I don't like it, but... I don't have a choice, Sawyer."
She cautiously made her way into the bar and toward him. He was her best friend, and she knew that he knew the world that she'd accidentally gotten herself into better than anyone.
"And you like him. That's a problem, too," observed Sawyer. She frowned. She'd hoped that he hadn't noticed this.
"I don't."
"You told him your real name," he stated. She glared at him in instant denial.
"I told you and Shannon my real name," she reminded him. He shook his head.
"That's different, Freckles. Shannon and me aren't honest. Jack's different. He's not from our world," said Sawyer.
"Maybe it won't work. I don't know if I can hold him like that," she protested. Sawyer scoffed.
"You already are."
If Sawyer said this with a trace of regret, Kate didn't catch it.
"We're going out again on Saturday."
Sawyer nodded.
"Be careful, Freckles."
"Why?"
"Because you're setting out to break his heart. Don't let him break yours," explained Sawyer. She smiled, touched, and moved forward into his arms. He wrapped them protectively around her, wishing she would let him protect her from the world.
"I've got to go," she said, her cheek resting on his shoulder. "I promised Shannon we'd talk once she gets home."
Sawyer nodded.
"Be careful. Do you want me to walk you?" he asked worriedly. She shook her head.
"I'll be careful."
As she left, she thought of how often they'd been using the word. Careful was something she had promised to be, and was also something that was impossible.
Author's note: So next chapter is my favourite so far. It's the second date of Jack and Kate and introduces Charlie and Claire and Aaron, too. I had such a good time writing it. But this one was fun too, because of Sawyer. Hope you guys liked it, too.